Disappointed to hear Carrie Fisher died with drugs in her system

19 June, 2017

All of us have demons we are forced to battle throughout life and Star Wars actress Carrie Fisher was no different. Her main demon was drug abuse and unfortunately, even though she insisted she had been clean for over seven years, at her time of death she had drugs in her system according to the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office. According to reports, those drugs were cocaine, methadone, ethanol, and opiates. That’s a pretty powerful combination, yet they didn’t kill her because the coroner said she died as a result of sleep apnea.

Many people out there on social media are quick to think that my disappointment in Carrie Fisher’s drug use is me being judgmental but in my opinion, it’s just I feel bad she never conquered her biggest demon. You see many years ago Carrie Fisher became the celebrity face of bipolar disorder and overcoming drug addiction. She claimed anything was possible despite having this terrible mental illness and seemed to be doing quite well the last few years of her life. She wrote books, once again was part of Star Wars movies, and took on many paid public speaking gigs.

It’s the paid public speaking engagements I have the problem with. You see most of them were about overcoming addiction citing her now long time sobriety from drugs and stressed backsliding back onto drugs is nothing to be ashamed about because of how addictive they are. She would actually stress she was so clean she didn’t even take aspirin anymore. Her main point as far as addiction goes was you have to be honest with yourself and others if you do fall back into your old habits so they can help you be accountable.

Having seen a few of these engagements I was really inspired by her speaking, openness about her demons and the fact that she showed one can get past their issues despite having bipolar disorder. During these engagements, she pimped out different paid treatment methods she had attached herself to as things to help you easily get over your mental health and even addiction issues.

Now, this is where it seems I am a bit judgmental. I feel as if you’re going to attach yourself to something and become its public face while profiting from doing so you should be practicing what you’re putting out there. I know drug addiction is powerful but just hours before her death at her book signing, she still claimed she was clean for many years. It’s just disappointing to know that in the end, her drug addiction seemed to come back for who knows how long and it doesn’t seem as if she took her own advice and sought help.

Carrie Fisher was, and still is, my hero as far as bipolar disorder goes. She lived an amazing life with this horrible disease and brought so much attention to it. Perhaps the fact she gave into her demons at the time of her death can still help others by serving as a warning that it’s okay to fall as long as you get back up. Don’t be afraid to tell others and seek out help if you need it.